THE FIVE BIGGEST NUTRITION MYTHS ACCORDING TO A DIETITIAN

A dietician just wrote an article about nutrition myths.  She says it seems like the advice is always changing, and it’s hard to know what to believe.  So she came up with a list of the top five nutrition myths she sees way too much.

1.  Eating healthy is expensive.  It CAN be if you lean on trendy smoothies and protein powders too much.  But you don’t NEED that stuff.  In general, just eat more fruits and vegetables.  Frozen is cheaper than fresh, but just as good.  A lot of us also eat too much in general.  And one expensive thing is junk food, like Doritos.  So eating healthy can save you money.

2.  Low-fat and fat-free options are better.  Fat makes you feel full longer.  So avoiding it can backfire, and you just end up eating more.  Also, low-fat stuff doesn’t taste as good.  So food companies compensate by adding more sugar.

3.  Egg whites are healthier.  Not necessarily.  They do have less fat and fewer calories.  But the yolks have a ton of vitamins and minerals that egg whites don’t.

4.  There’s one “best” diet everyone should follow.  Like DASH or the Mediterranean Diet.  If those work for you, great.  But in general, these are the things everyone agrees on.  Fibre is good, added sugar is bad, and so are trans fats, supplements can’t replace real food, and keep an eye on your calories.

5.  Salt is “bad” for you.  It gets a bad rap because TOO MUCH of it is bad, and Americans tend to overdo it.  But salt is also essential.  It’s what electrolytes are.  Current guidelines say don’t exceed 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day.  And the average adult eats more than 3,400 thanks to processed foods.  So most of us DO need to cut down.

But in one hour of exercise, your body can lose 500 to 1,200 milligrams.  So if you eat healthy and work out a lot, you might need to make sure you’re getting enough of it.